Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I had accidentally uncovered a secret. My mate, Theo Burke, was said to have died in battle. But in reality, he had assumed the identity of his twin older brother, Liam Burke. Since then, he had been spending his nights breeding with Mia Parker, Liam's mate. … I had just returned from the forest when I noticed that Agatha Rune, a witch, had come to the Thornroot pack. I hid in a corner and overheard an exchange. "You'll need to prepare more of the potion that masks my scent. I can't let Olivia find out that I'm actually Theo." He was actually Theo? What did that mean? I trembled as I stared wide-eyed at the werewolf in front of me—he had the exact same face as Theo. Theo and Liam were identical twins, but I would never mistake one for the other. I knew that the one I loved was Theo, who smelled of cedar. Half a year ago, Theo and Liam had been ambushed by a rival pack. Since that day, I lost him for good. All I wanted was to join Theo in heaven, but I couldn't possibly leave our son, Jax Burke, alone in this world. I spent every waking moment consumed by my anguished yearning for Theo. As a result of my depressive state, my wolf weakened with each passing day, too. And yet, after the torment I'd been through for the past half year, Theo was now claiming that he was actually alive? "Do you still intend to hide the truth from Ms. Olivia? I just saw her heading to the patch of forest where you two used to go on dates, the poor she-wolf," Agatha remarked. Theo's tone remained resolute. "That's none of your concern. You just need to prepare the potion I asked for.""Very well. I have no objections, of course. After all, you paid very handsomely when I gave you that potion to break your mate bond." I felt my blood turn cold as my mind was pulled back to that nightmarish day. I'd been at home accompanying Jax when all of a sudden, I felt an excruciating pain coming from my chest. It was as if someone had sunk their claws into my chest and crushed my heart. Overwhelmed by the pain, I fell unconscious for three days. When I woke up, I received the news that Theo was dead. But now, I just found out that all the pain and suffering I'd gone through thus far were merely the result of an elaborate lie! "All I did was sever our mate bond. Olivia's tough as nails. Nothing will happen to her. After all, she used to be a Rogue," Theo said indifferently. "My plan is about to succeed, no? Olivia's great in every way, but her bloodline is far too lowly and inferior. Father and Mother both wish to have an heir with a purer bloodline to inherit the pack. Mia comes from a far more prestigious lineage. As long as I can produce an heir with her, I'll become the Alpha. It will all work out perfectly, and you'll be rewarded with even more when the time comes." Theo's voice was filled with excitement as he spoke. Meanwhile, my mind had gone blank. It turned out that the mate I'd been missing and mourning for wasn't dead after all—he simply used a potion to mask his scent so that he could openly be intimate with Mia, right to my face. For the sake of securing a more prestigious bloodline and becoming the next Alpha, he abandoned Jax and me. He opted to have a child with his sister-in-law instead. My mind was spinning, and I had no idea how I made my way back to my room. "You're back, Mommy," Jax called out as he rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. When he looked up and saw my ashen face, he asked, "What's wrong, Mommy?" I was still having a hard time accepting what I'd just witnessed. I held Jax close and started sobbing hard, but I couldn't say a word. He stroked my back with his warm, tiny hand. When Jax was born, Theo stood guard outside the room for an entire day and night. He hugged me and peppered my face with loving kisses, saying, "I swear to the Moon Goddess that I will dedicate my life to protect you and our little pup." Well, his vow was nothing more than a joke now. By borrowing Liam's identity, he saved himself from being punished for breaking his vow. He had always been a cunning one. "Mommy, did Daddy pretend not to be Daddy again?" Jax asked. I froze. Now that I thought about it, Jax had been rather calm ever since Theo's supposed death. He'd been upset when the news first got back to us, but his expression had changed when his "Uncle Liam" returned. He immediately started addressing him as "Daddy". Everyone, including me, thought it was because Jax missed Theo. Who would've thought that Jax was the only one who saw right through everything? I looked into Jax's eyes and said, "Tell me how you found out Uncle Liam is actually Daddy." Jax cocked his head to the side in confusion and said, "From his scent. He smells like Daddy." I was stunned. All along, I knew Jax was powerful. His wolf had awakened even when he was very young. That being said, I didn't expect him to be unaffected by Agatha's potion, so much so that he could discern Theo's real identity. I knew this was due to my father's bloodline. My father was the most powerful Alpha King of the Southern Woodlands. I wasn't a Rogue. I'd merely gotten lost in the forest after sneaking out to play when Theo found me. As we realized we were fated mates, he didn't care about my bloodline. Our relationship developed smoothly, and nature took its course. But now, the identity I pretended to be became the reason I was forsaken. Well, Theo no longer had the right to be made aware of this secret. I turned to Jax and said, "I'm going to take you home, Jax. What do you say?"

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

"Home?" Jax repeated doubtfully. While caressing his face, I replied, "That's right. It's the home where I lived before I had you." Jax started crying. "Are we leaving Daddy? I'm already doing my best to play along with Daddy's game by pretending not to know it's him, so when is he finally coming back?" My heart ached to see how upset Jax was. He still thought that Theo's abandonment of us was merely a game. This whole time, he'd patiently waited for Theo to return. He had no clue that Theo, who seemed to adore him, scorned him for not having a purer bloodline. Theo had gone straight to another she-wolf and wanted to have a pup with her. I stroked Jax's head and said hoarsely, "What if Daddy doesn't plan on ever ending the game?""That won't happen! Yesterday, Daddy promised me he'd celebrate my birthday with me today!" As I knew it was Jax's birthday today, I couldn't bring myself to tell him the truth. It would be too cruel. "Okay. I'll wait with you," I said. Jax and I waited the entire day, but Theo never showed up. Truth be told, I'd used the mind-link to ask his Beta and found out that Theo left with Mia two hours ago. As I watched how disappointment slowly colored Jax's expression, I tried to think of something to say. Just then, a maid opened the door and said, "Ms. Olivia, Mr. Theo is asking the two of you to join the others at the event hall." Jax's eyes lit up at once. "Daddy is throwing me a birthday party at the event hall!" I had a feeling something wasn't right, but I followed Jax as he scampered off excitedly. When we got to the event hall, I saw Mia standing in the center dressed in a lavish gown. Theo was holding her affectionately by the waist. I got a bad feeling, but I failed to stop Jax in time. He'd already jogged over to Theo and hugged him. "Daddy, are you having a party for my birthday?" he asked. Theo looked clueless. Clearly, he hadn't remembered it was Jax's birthday. Now petting her belly, Mia said, "We're about to have our own little pup, so you need to stop calling him 'Daddy' from now on." My heart clenched in pain as I took in the situation in disbelief. Even Jax was stunned. Theo glanced at Mia before looking at Jax, saying, "Your Aunt Mia is with pup. That's what we're celebrating. Go back to your seat. Be a good little pup and don't cause a scene." However, Jax was having a hard time accepting this rather complicated situation. He clutched Theo and asked, "Daddy, are you going to have another pup? What about Mommy and me?" His words drew the attention of the other guests, who began murmuring among themselves. "Who is that? Liam's bastard pup?""That's the son of Liam's younger brother, the one who died. I guess the poor little pup is still traumatized." I walked over and pulled Jax into my arms. I wanted to take us away from this ridiculous situation, but Mia abruptly said, "He must be hungry. Why don't you have dinner first before you go?" Since all the guests were watching, I had no choice but to take my seat with Jax. "I heard from the healer that Mia's pup is probably a male. I'm sure he will make an excellent future Alpha." Mia laughed when she heard the guests' well wishes. "Of course. The combination of my bloodline and Liam's outstanding lineage will surely produce an extremely powerful pup. It certainly won't be the same as some Rogue's bloodline." I ignored her taunts and focused on tending to Jax. Mia had always been hostile toward me. After all, Liam had initially taken a liking to me as well. However, I was enamored with Theo. Once we became mates, Liam gave up on me and chose Mia. Now, watching as Theo sat beside Mia as her mate, I found this entire situation ludicrous. Meanwhile, at my silence, Mia's eyes flashed with displeasure. She continued, "I heard that a guard from one of the northern packs likes you. Why don't—""No!" Theo abruptly exclaimed, breaking his silence at last. Everyone fell silent, and Mia's expression stiffened as she bit her lip and stared at Theo. Theo rubbed his nose and said, "Olivia is my younger brother's mate. He would be very upset if he found out she became someone else's mate." What a perfect reason to give, and what a greedy werewolf he was—even though he'd chosen to abandon Jax and me, he refused to let us go. "But you're Theo, my daddy," Jax said loudly. He was still confused by everything that was happening. I could see the panic in Theo's eyes as he snapped, "Jax! I know you miss your father, but you need to learn to behave yourself!" Jax was deeply hurt by that, and Theo had no choice but to serve him a bowl of seafood soup in the hopes of appeasing him. However, soon after Jax had drunk a few mouthfuls, his skin turned red. He crashed into my arms, his breathing ragged. "Jax? Oh, my goodness! Is there cod in the soup?" I asked worriedly. As I held Jax close, I clenched my jaw and glared at Theo. Even though he was Jax's father, he'd forgotten that Jax was allergic to cod. Theo wanted to get up, but Mia suddenly exclaimed, "My love! My stomach hurts!" He retracted his hand, which had been extended toward Jax, and quickly carried Mia. "Take Jax to a healer," he said to me before dashing off with Mia. I was shaking as I hugged Jax. What little hope and expectation I had left for Theo instantly crumbled into nothing.

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

I stayed with Jax as he spent the night at the hospital. Early the next morning, Theo rushed over, looking rather anxious. "How are you, little pup?" he asked. He'd brought a pile of snacks and toys with him. In the past, it would've been very easy to placate Jax. However, after what happened yesterday, he wasn't going to be won over by these things. "I'm doing just fine, Uncle Liam." It was Theo's first time hearing Jax address him as such, and it seemed to shock him. It took him a while before he finally snapped back to his senses. He turned to me and said, "Why don't you get some rest, Olivia? You must be tired. I'll stay with Jax." I didn't even bother to look at Theo. For the past six months, he'd looked out for Jax and me. All along, I was touched that my mate's older brother would do so much for us. But as it was, he was simply doing what he should've done in the first place! Again, this was Theo's first time receiving such a reaction from us, and it infuriated him somewhat. "I'll have you know that your future Alpha is talking! Have you been teaching Jax to be this rude, Olivia?" While speaking, he grabbed me by the wrist. "What are you guys doing?" Mia's voice abruptly rang out from the doorway. Her gaze was menacing as it locked on Theo's grip around my wrist. Theo released me, saying, "Oh, my love. What are you doing here? I came to visit Jax." Mia said nothing, but she continued to glower at Jax and me. Once they were gone, I quickly took Jax back to the house and packed our things. I decided to bring forward our plan to leave. I felt apprehensive when I made a mind-link connection that I hadn't in years. Father didn't want me to become Theo's mate. He said Theo lacked ability but was full of pride. Blinded by love, I chose to cut off all ties with my family just to be with Theo. What a dumb move that was. "Father, I…" When the mind-link connected, I couldn't get the words out. "Have you decided to come back? I'll have your mother prepare your favorite apple pie," Father said gently. It was as if I'd never left. My tears began rolling down my face. Just as I was about to speak, I heard a loud explosion. The entire room was set ablaze at the very next second. Alarmed, I grabbed Jax and started heading for the door, but it was locked. "Damn it!" I cursed. I tried to shove the door open, but my wolf wasn't strong enough. I'd gotten steadily weaker throughout the past half year, so there was no way I could break down the door. Jax was coughing in my embrace, and I'd never felt more helpless than I did now. "Help! Somebody, help!" I shouted in despair. Just then, Mia's voice came from the outside. "Don't bother shouting. I moved all the guards in this area away." My arms trembled as I held Jax. Mia continued smugly, "You're such a bitch! Since your own mate's dead, you're now trying to seduce Liam! Don't think that Liam will come to you now just because Theo's dead." I didn't have the time to refute her ridiculous claims, as the flames had scorched my back. I was hugging Jax tightly, afraid he would get burned as well. "Mommy!" As he sobbed and coughed, he tried to break out of my arms. Upon hearing the desperate cries, Mia laughed gleefully. However, when she turned around and saw Theo returning, she immediately ran up to him with a terrified expression. "Liam! Olivia's gone mad! She set the villa on fire!" My wolf howled in agony. The fire had burned my back so badly that I started feeling numb to the pain. I slowly began losing consciousness. In my daze, I heard a loud sound. Just before blacking out, I saw Jax breaking the door open with his tiny body. He was still crying as he dragged me out.

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

When I woke up, I found myself in the dungeon with my wounds untreated. My wolf had fallen into a deep slumber due to the burns and couldn't heal me either. "Mommy, you're awake!" Jax exclaimed. He was covered in dirt. When he noticed I was awake, he immediately brought me some water and fed it to me. With great effort, I pulled myself into an upright sitting position. I only exhaled in relief once I made sure he was unharmed. "I'm fine, Mommy. Have some water," Jax insisted. Something felt different about him, and I soon found out why. After I'd lost consciousness, Jax had carried me over to Theo and tearfully begged for help. However, Theo chose to blindly believe Mia's lies. "Olivia said she wanted me to experience what it's like to lose a loved one. Then, she set the fire! I only escaped because I managed to break the door open. I'm so scared, my love. My stomach hurts!" Mia cried. "Your mother keeps crossing the line! Setting a fire is a severe violation of our rules!" Theo roared at Jax. Influenced by Mia, Theo ordered Jax and me to be imprisoned in the dungeon. Jax, who was in tears as he tried to explain what really happened, suddenly fell silent. At last, it dawned on him that Theo no longer wanted us. "We don't want him either!" Jax declared. "Once you're all better, Mommy, I'll take you out of here." Jax held my hand. The steely look in his eyes reminded me of an experienced warrior. I was reminded of the way he'd somehow managed to unleash a great deal of strength to save me. Moved, I hugged him. "We'll leave right away, and we'll never come back…" I muttered. "Olivia!" Theo's voice abruptly rang out from the entrance. He sounded anxious. He'd even forgotten to mimic Liam's tone and speech patterns. He rushed to me with a bunch of things in his hands. "Thank goodness! You're awake at last. I brought you some healing ointments for your injuries." He stuffed everything into my arms before staring at me concernedly. I watched icily as his gaze flickered when he saw the ghastly injuries on my back. He reached for my face as if it were a perfectly natural thing for him to do. "What do you think you're doing?" I snapped as I pushed him away. "Kindly watch your behavior, Liam. I'm your brother's mate.""But I'm…" Theo began before cutting himself off, failing to get the rest of the words out of his mouth. "You should leave, Uncle Liam," Jax said before attempting to push Theo out. Theo quickly pulled both Jax and me up. "I got you a car. It's waiting outside right now. Someone will escort you guys away in secret. Arson is a serious violation of the pack's rules. I'm worried that the elders might make things difficult for you guys. You need to go into hiding for a while," Theo said. Then, as if attempting to reassure himself, he added, "Everything will be back on track once Mia's pup is born. It'll all work out then!" I knew what he meant, but I wasn't interested. I had no intention of being with him in this pack any longer. "Fine. Let us out," I said calmly. Theo's face flashed with joy. He assumed that I agreed to his request and happily escorted us to the entrance before rushing off to return to Mia's side. Naturally, I wasn't going along with his arrangements. Just moments ago, Noah Chandler communicated with me through the mind-link. Noah was my father's Beta. We'd grown up together, and he was my father's most trusted subordinate. Evidently, Father found out I was in danger and sent Noah to get us. At the entrance of the villa, a white wolf with a pair of familiar blue eyes appeared beneath the moonlight. His massive figure loomed over me as he bowed his head. It was hard to believe that such a massive and powerful wolf was merely a Beta in the Southern Woodlands. Alas, such was the mysterious Frostfang pack, my real home. With Jax in my arms, I climbed onto Noah's back. He sprinted off, disappearing into the night. I turned around and looked at where I'd lived for the last three years. Then, I tossed my phone into a lake. This was farewell for good, Theo.